Design for the Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol, 1830.

Description

Early design for the abutments of Clifton Suspension Bridge, signed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859). Construction of the bridge actually began in 1836, but funds ran out leading to work being halted in 1853. Brunel moved onto other projects including the Royal Albert Bridge over the River Tamar at Saltash, Cornwall, for which some of the material intended for the Clifton Bridge was used. Brunel died with his cherished Clifton Suspension Bridge unfinished, but his death prompting the Institution of Civil Engineers to push for the completion of the project as a memorial to him. Funding was raised, an Act of Parliament was pased confirming the bridge would be finished, and it opened on 8th December 1864.